Afreximbank commits $2
billion as partners sign agreement for Export Agriculture
for Food Security Initiative.
Prof. Benedict Oramah (middle), President and Chairman of Afreximbank signing the agreement with strategic partners and member countries
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Cairo, 14 November 2023: The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) yesterday in Cairo, entered into a framework agreement for the Export Agriculture for Food Security (ExAFS) Initiative with ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP) and the governments of Chad, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Egypt. The initiative seeks to initiative to improve food security in Africa.
At
a ceremony on the fifth day of the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), Prof.
Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Afreximbank,signed the framework agreement on behalf of the Bank.
Other
signers were Robertine
Walendom, Minister of Industry and Trade of Chad; Sosten
Gwengwe, Minister of Industry and Trade of Malawi; Dr. Anxious Masuka, Minister of
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of Zimbabwe; Dr.
Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation of Egypt; and Gagan
Gupta, Founder and CEO of ARISE IIP.
Afreximbank, working with strategic
partners and member countries, is facilitating the implementation of the ExAFS
initiative by committing US$2 billion to boost production, processing and
intra-African trade in agricultural products and provide African farmers and
agribusinesses with opportunities to access larger markets across the
continent.
The initiative is intended to help address food insecurity in Africa, which includes a near 20 per cent hunger rate, by reducing dependence on other regions for much needed food commodities. ExAFS will also increase sales, lead to better prices, and improve profitability for Africa’s agricultural value chain stakeholders.
It will leverage upon the establishment of agricultural transformation centres (ATCs) - under a public-private partnership model - in agricultural production zones to provide facilities for agricultural produce from farming communities to be collected, sorted, stored, and transported as raw material for processing or distribution. ATCs will also provide additional services to farmers, including micro finance, basic social services, cold storage facilities, extension services and training.
Afreximbank will act as financier, facilitator and advisor and will lead the implementation of partnership activities while governments of pilot origin countries of the agricultural produce (Zimbabwe, Malawi and Chad) will play the role of policy enablers and ensure conducive environments for the ATCs. ATC anchor investors, such as zone developers, large scale commercial farmers, seed companies and development finance institutions, will invest in the ATCs and their necessary infrastructure and will be the primary purchasers and aggregators in origin markets while anchor buyers, such as the Government of Egypt, will be the primary export markets for agricultural produce.
About the Intra-African Trade Fair
Organised by the African Export-Import Bank
(Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the Intra-African
Trade Fair (IATF) is intended to provide a unique platform for facilitating
trade and investment information exchange in support of increased intra-African
trade and investment, especially in the context of implementing the African
Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). IATF brings together continental and
global players to showcase and exhibit their goods and services and to explore
business and investment opportunities in the continent. It also provides a
platform to share trade, investment and market information with stakeholders
and allows participants to discuss and identify solutions to the challenges
confronting intra-African trade and investment. In addition to African
participants, the Trade Fair is also open to businesses and investors from
non-African countries interested in doing business in Africa and in supporting
the continent’s transformation through industrialisation and export
development.
For more information, please visit www.intrafricantradefair.com
About
Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a
Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote
intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying
innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the
transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating
industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion
in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement
(AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System
(PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and
settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with
the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion
Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA.
At the end of 2022, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over
US$31 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.2 billion. The Bank
disbursed more than US$86 billion between 2016 and 2022. Afreximbank has
investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s
(Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has
evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary
called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance
management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”).
For more information, please visit: www.afreximbank.com
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